This invention relates to extracting summaries of television (or audio) programming both during live broadcasting and post broadcasting. It is in one instance concerned with recipient controlled recovery of summaries of programming supplied via cable and xDSL access links. In another aspect it concerns back-and-forth intermingling of summaries and live/recorded programming under control of a recipient customer. It particularly concerns apparatus within a broadcast network and on customer premises to enable such extraction and presentation of summaries.
Recording apparatus presently generally available permits a recipient of television and radio programming to record real-time programming (i.e., on VHS tapes) and replay it at a later time. The most ubiquitous example is the VCR, which allows recordation of live TV programming under recipient control for replay at a time of the recipient""s choice. To record, the customer must select the time of the interval to be recorded.
There exist more sophisticated systems (Digital Video Recorders) which automatically record programming (via a digital cache/memory) and allow the user to selectively view portions of the recorded programming at a later time. An example of such a recording system is the ReplayTV digital video recorder and the TiVo Personal TV digital video recorder, which supply up to 30 hours of recording time. They provide features that surpass recording by monitoring listener preferences and by suggesting programming appropriate to these preferences. Recording may occur during live programming and if live viewing is interrupted the viewer may recover a delayed presentation of the programming at the end of the interruption interval.
These record/playback systems are however limited by failing to fully utilize network system capabilities. Summaries, for example, may be poorly defined or delimited resulting in loss of program material available to the user/viewer. Options available to the user are limited to manipulation of programming as received rather than using network and program provider resources to provide a broad spectrum of control.
Recipients who receive network programming are enabled, according to principles of the invention, to receive television/audio programming from a distribution network and view selected summaries of such programming as part of a network-based service. Identification and preparation of the summaries is at least in part a network-controlled process with recipient utilization of the features provided being under control of the recipient viewer. Features include recovery of audio, snapshots (stills) and full-motion video summaries extracted from program content. A summary in some instances may be a specially created overview, of a program created by a program source that is provided by a program source or provider. In some instances, segments may be created independent of the programming as a leader or overview in advance of the program or as an inducement to watch pre-stored programs.
Summaries are generally program segments extracted from complete programs and may include various combinations of audio, full-motion video, still pictures (i.e., selected frames), and other presentation modes either singly or in any desired arrangement. Accessing techniques may be by user control or system controlled selection based on user profiles. Direct user selections, may be made by a user for covering interruptions to user viewing. Network control allows greater selectively, to determine if program content is desired or to meet other user generated requests, which a summary may satisfy.
In an illustrative embodiment, the sources of programming generate and transmit summaries that include control information to permit a recipient to selectively choose and replay the summaries. In some embodiments a video summary server (VSS) is included in the network to perform summary/program storage and provide access functions. In another embodiment a set top box (STB) is included on recipient premises to receive program/summaries and perform some of the viewing control functions and store summaries.
The process of transmitting and generating summaries is based in part upon properties specified in the MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group) standards. MPEG-2 is a standard concerning signal encoding and real time transmission of video and audio program streams. The standards primary goal is bandwidth compression as well as combining and multiplexing. Packet headers under the standard include many features such as time stamps, typing of payloads and combining/multiplexing all of, which are useful in enabling the invention of applicants. MPEG-2 includes many features including information-carrying capability of a video stream. This permits the transmission of information by the program source that enables the features of the invention to be realized.
In one aspect the method of the invention processes programming to facilitate selection and delivery of summaries of the programming to recipients by providing the programming to the recipient via a program channel. Index markers are applied to the program to divide the programming into segments. Summary segments are generated containing information from corresponding programming segments and related to one another by corresponding index markers. Metadata files are created and associated with a summary channel and operate to delimit beginning and ending of segments in both programming and summary channels. Metadata includes the indexing information for facilitating links between programming segments and summary segments. A user/recipient selects a summary by activating a link between a programming segment and a summary segment by utilizing the metadata file included with the summary channel. The summary is transmitted to the recipient, via the summary channel.
In a particular embodiment the summary channels include metadata to implement/facilitate a linking back and forth between summary and program channels under command of a user. The MPEG-2 standards enable user data, in the form of metadata, to be included in a video sequence. This data delimits the beginning and end of segments in both summary and program channels. The standard further allows an elementary data stream to be included within a program stream. The elementary data stream is used to provide indexing used to implement video linking and interrupted viewing features.
In one aspect the relevant control is responsive to metadata supplied to define and identify summaries corresponding to particular programs. It defines start and end marks of both summaries and programs and the nature of the linking connections between summary and program. Such metadata is easily to integrate with the programming under the MPEG-2 standard.
The reviewing and selection functions include but are not limited to;
Supplying and viewing summaries of programs as a means of selection of programs to view in their entirety.
Providing recipient control to select related summaries and full program segments through summary-segment linkage marks.
Providing one-way and two-way video hyperlinks between programs and summaries.
Providing the viewing recipient with missing portions of interrupted program viewing.
Generating summaries during live programming for intermittent viewing.
Providing summaries permitting selective recipient recording of portions of a program.